


trees and other flammable things

by shyberius



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Be more chill cameos, Connor is a dragon, Dragon AU, Fluff, M/M, Sincerely gay, Treebros, Trees, dear evan hansen - Freeform, dragon - Freeform, why did I write this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2018-10-19
Packaged: 2019-06-28 15:48:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15710337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shyberius/pseuds/shyberius
Summary: No one was supposed to know that Connor was a dragon.Especially not Evan.But things can't always go to plan, can they?





	1. "Are those...wings?"

"E-excuse me?"

Nothing.

"Um..."

_Damn._ Connor recognised that voice. It was the hesitant falter of none other than Evan Hansen.

"Why is the, um, why is the restroom on fire?"

So _polite._ Connor wished he'd leave him in some much-needed peace.

"It's only one cubicle." Connor retorted from inside his slightly smoking cubicle.

"C-connor Murphy?"

Oh, he really was fucked. If Hansen found out -

"You can't tell anyone about this. You understand?" Connor busied himself dousing the small flames with the remnants of his Mountain Dew. Only, Mountain Dew didn't seem to be helping nearly as much as some fresh water would.

What had happened was this: staying in human form was tiring. Especially on the first day of the semester and under the influence of cheap pot.  So Connor had let his guard down. He'd got angry - someone provoked him - and he'd felt that fireball form in his chest.

From that point, the challenge had been keeping it inside. Which he'd managed to do until he'd got to the restroom, at which point he'd coughed it up, thus starting an inconspicuous little fire.

So maybe _little_ wasn't the right word. "Hansen?" He said with gritted teeth.

"...yes?"

"Give me your water." It was just a guess as to whether Hansen had any water, but Connor saw him as the sort of kid who'd pack his school bag for every eventuality.

Thank dragons he was right. "Sure," Evan passed his bottle underneath the cubicle.

Connor hissed in relief, pouring the water over the flames and extinguishing them. The only evidence that anything had happened was a charred black stain on the door.

He waited until it was quiet - Hansen must have left by now. But as he opened the door, the kid was still there.

How could someone be that silent? Connor was supposed to have a superior sense of hearing.

But here they were, the quietest kid on earth and the secret dragon, facing each other as if they'd never seen other humans before.

(Not that Connor was technically _human._ But Evan didn't know that.)

Evan frowned, pulling his backpack closer to him as if for protection. "Are those...wings?"

_Shit._

Connor usually folded his wings tightly behind his back, and they'd be invisible beneath a baggy hoodie. But because of the fire incident, he'd completely forgot that they were there. Now they were spread out behind him, shining, crimson and glaringly obvious.

"They're for my..." He fumbled for words, ignoring Hansen's dumbstruck expression. "My cosplay. For ComicCon."

Connor had never even set foot at ComicCon. That was the territory for losers like Michael, the kid in his calc class who got the same slushie every lunch.

"ComicCon isn't till May," said Evan Hansen softly.

_Double shit._

Evan tilted his head to the side, as if Connor were a problem he was trying to figure out. "You're a dragon, aren't you?" His voice held no judgement; only plain curiosity.

But Connor was still on guard, like always. "Why would I be a dragon?" He sneered. "Dragons are rare. Too rare for _me_ to be one."

It was true: dragons were rare. Dragon blood only showed up once every, say, one hundred years, and no one really knew where it came from. It just so happened that the Murphy family had got lucky.

'Lucky'. Connor curled his wings round his shoulders in a mixture of aggression and embarrassment. From the look in Evan's eyes, Connor knew that he knew that he was lying.

"You can't tell anyone," hissed Connor. "I'll..." What would make an effective threat? "I'll burn the trees in town. The orchard, everything." That would do it; he knew that the kid had a weird obsession with trees.

Sure enough, Evan looked mortified. Connor almost felt bad. "I-I promise I won't tell anyone," he stammered, wringing his hands together and anxiously eying Connor's throat, as if he'd start breathing flames any minute.

"You better not." With that, Connor strode out of the restroom, throwing Evan's empty water bottle back over his (winged) shoulder. "Watch your back." He turned and blew a spark in Evan's direction, disappearing round the corner.


	2. "You play D&D?"

"Evan Hansen? Trying to spread shit?" Jared clapped Evan on the back too hard, making him drop the book he was holding. "It's more likely than you think."

Evan hastily picked up the book before Jared could grab it and tell him how geeky it was to read _The Grapes of Wrath_ for fun. "I-I'm not! I swear."

What had happened was this: Jared had been having his usual daily conversation with Evan in the school parking lot (if he didn't, his parents would stop giving him gas money), and he'd noticed that the other boy's shirt collar was singed. Like, literally _black around the edges._ And after a few minutes of pushing for information (in Evan's mind, verbal bullying), he'd finally cracked. Evan had told him everything that had happened in the bathroom.

Which didn't make Evan a Spreader of Shit. It simply made him terrified of Jared Kleinman, which had been an established fact since Jared had hit him with a Sycamore branch in middle school.

"Connor Murphy? A dragon?" Jared exclaimed, leaning on the bonnet of Evan's car as if it were his. "That explains _so much_."

Evan frowned. "It does?"

Jared made a _duh_ face. "That's why he wears black all the time."

Evan couldn't figure out what was so dragon-like about that. But Jared carried on, "Usually weredragons try not to blend in. Like in D&D."

"You play D&D?"

"No," Jared said automatically. Of course, thought Evan, he wouldn't admit it.

He proved further. "If he's a...weredragon," the word still sounded unfamiliar to him, "can he change form at will? How-how come I saw his wings, then?"

"I don't know," said Jared sourly, kicking one of Evan's wheels. (Evan winced - if he punctured a tire, his mom would never be able to replace it.) " _You're_ the geek -" he gestured to Evan's book. "You figure it out."

Jared sauntered off without a backward glance.

Now Evan couldn't figure out who he was more scared of: Jared, who could tear down his self esteem with a single word, or Connor, who was a dragon and most likely very, very angry.


	3. "Look up, tree boy."

Evan didn't drive straight home. His mom's shift wouldn't be over until nine, so what was the point?

Instead, he drove to the park. The trees were in full bloom, and besides, it was quiet. Quiet enough to reel over the day's events.

He parked the car, walked around for a while, then settled with his back against a particularly large oak tree. Evan liked how the branches draped around him, as if he was in his own world. He shut his eyes.

"It hasn't rained in a while," a voice sounded from just behind Evan. That voice was familiar - at least, he'd heard it before. "Which means that the park's very dry. All it would take is one spark for the whole thing to go up in flames."

Evan scrambled to his feet. _Connor_. It had to be Connor's voice.

But where _was_ he?

"Look up, tree boy. Isn't that what you always do?"

Sure enough, Evan looked up and gasped. Because a dragon was perched on the topmost branch of the tree, it's wings circling the trunk and a wicked Connor-esque grin on it's face.

 _His_ , Evan corrected himself. _His_ face.

Connor adjusted his tail, which was hanging down, making the leaves shake. An acorn fell down onto Evan's head; he rubbed the spot where it had hit.

"Well, you've discovered a lot today," drawled Connor. "One, that I'm a dragon. Two, you've discovered _gravity_."

Without warning, he swooped down and landed in front of Evan. He was so close, Evan could feel his hot breath on his neck. "You're about to discover something else," Connor's amber eyes flashed. "You're about to discover that you don't like me when I'm angry."

Evan stood stock still, afraid that if he moved a muscle Connor would do something dramatic, such as tear him to pieces. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to control his jumping heart rate.

When he opened his eyes again, the dragon was gone. In it's place was just a boy: just Connor. As if he hadn't just been a giant fire-breathing lizard.

"That's assuming you liked me in the first place," he mused, ignoring Evan as if he were talking to himself. "Which I hope you didn't."

"Well, I didn't _dis_ like you..." Said Evan in a small voice. He was just trying to give Connor the benefit of the doubt.

"Well. If you feel anything but dislike towards me, tree boy, then I feel sorry for you."

The human version of Connor now just looked sad and distant - miles away from the terrifying dragon he'd been only seconds before.

"I...I only told Jared. No one else," Evan tried. "And I wasn't going to tell anyone, only he made me do it. He can be kind of...scary? Like, if he doesn't get his way -"

It doesn't matter now," Connor avoided eye contact (not that Evan noticed, as he was also avoiding eye contact). "Once Jared Kleinman knows, the whole school knows, and that's a fact."

Despite trying to be optimistic, Evan knew that Connor was right. Give Jared a keyboard and a snippet of information, and he'd spread his gossip to the whole world if he wanted to. "If I...if I drive to his house now, maybe I can stop him."

What was he saying? This was a stupid idea. This was crazy -

Connor tilted his head to the side, deep in thought. "That could work," He looked at Evan now, a mad glint in his eye. His grin was like a gash across his face. "But I have a better plan."


	4. "7/11's never a bad idea."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Evan whispered, standing on his toes so that only Connor could hear him.

Connor gave him a furtive side-eye. "7/11's never a _bad_ idea."

Evan wasn't ready to believe him yet - not when he was loitering by the slushie machine with the two people he feared most in the world.

"You realise," said Jared, swiping a plastic cup from the pile, "that I'm only here for the slushie. _Specifically_ , rainbow flavour." Ignoring the other two, he poured himself a gallon of the stuff.

(Well, not a gallon. But enough to hydrate a village of very thirsty people.)

"The fuck is rainbow flavour?" Connor raised a sceptical eyebrow.

"Better than your mom."

Connor didn't even acknowledge Jared's dig, which was in poor taste anyway.

Jared eyed Connor suspiciously. "And don't melt my drink."

Connor rolled his eyes so subtly that only Evan noticed. "Whatever. Can we get to what we're actually here for?"

Evan nodded, twisting his sleeves in his hands. Jared slurped on his straw as nonchalantly as you could when you were drinking rainbow slushie.

"Are either of you gonna get something first?" Asked Jared.

"Glad you asked," Connor pulled a shining pink lollipop out of his jeans pocket. Seeing Connor with anything that wasn't black was unsettling. "Want one?" He nodded at Evan.

"N-no thanks." Evan figured the lollipops were either poisoned, stolen or both.

" _Nice_. A dragon who diets on lollipops." Said Jared sarcastically.

Over the top of his lollipop, Connor shot him an infernal glare. "They're shiny."

"Because dragons like shiny things, don't they? That's so..." Jared took another hit of slushie. "... cliché."

Ignoring him, Connor's expression changed to all business. "The deal is this. _You_ -" he pointed the lollipop in Evan's vague direction, "couldn't keep your mouth shut. _You_ -" he pointed it at Jared this time, "shouldn't know what I am, but do. Which means that _I_ -" he helpfully pointed the lollipop at his chest, "hate both of your guts." He said this almost cheerfully, as if hating someone's guts was the norm.

"Don't you hate everyone?" Murmured Jared.

"Yes. But you two especially." Connor crunched the rest of the lollipop to pieces. How could someone make eating a lollipop threatening? Somehow he'd managed to pull it off. "In order for you to keep my secret - that means not telling anyone - I'm offering to pay you."

"Or?"

By way of answer, Connor touched a finger to his mouth and blew air in Jared's direction. His jacket began to smoke. "What the _fuck_." Jared frantically poured the remainder of his slushie down his front to put out the fire.

A 7/11 employee stuck her head round the aisle. "Is everything okay?" She asked, casting a nervous glance over the three boys.

Connor smiled angelically, gesturing to Jared. "Fine. He's just clumsy, is all."

As the employee disappeared, Jared scowled at Connor bitterly. "I could tell everyone. I could ruin you more than you already are, which is pretty hard. What would you pay me?"

Evan felt like he was the fence between the two boys. Like he was the only barrier between them getting to each other and fighting.

It wasn't a position he wanted to be in.

Connor pulled out another lollipop. His grin resembled that of a dragon again - a dragon that could burn down cities with a breath, and fly over it in a second. "It's like you said, Kleinman. Dragons like shiny things."

Jared let out an incredulous (albeit slightly nervous - he hadn't forgotten the fire incident yet) laugh. "You're going to pay me in sweets. Great."

"Money, dumbass. Treasure. Crystals that cost more than your house."

Now Jared was listening. "What's the deal?" He sounded almost reverent now.

"For every week you keep my secret," said Connor, "I'll pay you." He stuck out a hand. "Deal?"

Evan held his breath for the painful few seconds it took for Jared to make his decision. Finally, Jared took Connor's hand, looking him hard in the eye as he let go, as if to say, _Don't ever forget this_. "Deal."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell I'm on holiday when I post so frequently


	5. "Very shiny."

The deal was simple. Every week, in some secret place (in other words: Jared Kleinman's garage), Connor, Jared and Evan would meet. Every week, Connor would pay Jared with something in return for keeping his secret. That something was almost always shiny and definitely always of value.

Evan wasn't sure why he had to be there; perhaps it was his penance for the crime that he had initially committed (in other words: telling Jared in the first place).

Jared would turn up first after school. Then Evan, in his mom's car, fresh from whatever extracurricular activity he'd partaken in to boost his college repertoire. Then, finally, Connor would pull up in his markedly more expensive car, taking the term 'fashionably late' to unprecedented levels.

The conversation was usually minimal.

"Why do you go places in a car," asked Jared, a few weeks into the deal, "when you could just fly everywhere?"

The look Connor gave him was one of barely suppressed exasperation. "See, there are some questions that are actually too stupid for me to answer," he muttered dully.

Jared clearly didn't take the hint. "Would you ever let me, like, ride on your back? Or Evan - he weighs about the same as a shoe, so that wouldn't be too hard."

Evan shrank back, avoiding attracting Connor's attention - he didn't want Connor's irritation to be misdirected at him.

"Sure," Connor shot back, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "I could put you on my back, and drop you into the Pacific Ocean. Wouldn't _that_ be fun?"

Jared laughed weakly. "Um, so, where's my payment?"

Connor reached into his pocket. When he pulled his hand out, a sparkling watch dangled from his long fingers. The last of the November sunlight glinted off the watch face. "This is an original Hugo Boss watch. Very shiny."

Jared tried to grab the watch out of Connor's hand, but Connor just took a smart step backwards, leaving Jared to stumble sideways into Evan, who made a noncommittal sound of discontentment. "You can't just rate the value of something based on how _shiny_ it is," Jared whined.

Connor raised his eyebrows. "I just did."

"But how much is it worth?" Jared asked sceptically. The watch was nice and all, but it really couldn't beat the diamond necklace he'd got last week.

"Hmm," Connor paused to think about this. "Somewhere between ten and twenty thousand. Depends where you're selling it."

Jared's eyes widened. "Can I have it now?"

Connor grunted as if he couldn't care less, handing Jared the watch.

"Where do you get this stuff in the first place?"

"You ask a lot of questions." Indicating that the conversation was over - it hadn't been minimal _enough_ for Connor's refined taste - Connor hitched his messenger bag back onto his shoulder and turned to leave.

Jared took the hint, murmuring "bye" and disappearing back into his house with the watch. Now it was just Evan, standing in the middle of the garage with nothing to say, because there was no one there. (Not that he'd had anything to say when there _had_ been people there. Well, he _had_ , but the opening-mouth-and-projecting-noises part was harder than it looked.)

He wandered back up to his car, looking forward to an evening of doing nothing on his laptop. Even minor social interaction was slightly exhausting, because you had to always make sure your facial expression was the way you wanted it to look, and what if your hands got sweaty, and so on into infinity. But as he opened the door, he felt a hand placed softly on his shoulder. He whipped around, startled.

"Only me," said Connor.

_Only you. Only a huge fire-breathing dragon disguised as a human._

"I just wanted to say I don't hate your guts," Connor told him seriously, all earlier traces of annoyance gone from his tone.

Evan was at a loss. "Why would you...?"

"Remember when we met in 7-Eleven?" Connor said almost impatiently, as if it were a recent and not at all obscure memory. "I said I hated yours and Jared's guts."

Evan nodded, remembering now. His back foot held the car door open; he couldn't wait to drive away.

Connor just gave him a pointed, incomprehensible look and said, "In other words, I meant Jared. Not you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Iiiiit's another inconsistent update! Anyway, I hope you accept this little moment between Connor and Evan as an apology for the late chapter. I love you all, stay shiny :))))


	6. "Kidnap innocent souls."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your patience with this! Even thought it's taken me so long to finish, I hope you love the ending as much as I do. I tried to give dragon-Connor the best.

It was the same old route back from school: a winding, gray suburban road lined with identical square houses and the occasional undernourished tree. The sky was an undecided shade of blue, a cross between cloudy and clear. Ordinary. Nondescript.

Except it was none of these things. The road, the houses and the trees were still there, only now Evan was looking at them from thirty feet in the air. Instead of the worn leather of the steering wheel, he gripped the sleek surface of scales.

Evan was _flying_. Evan was sat on the back of a dragon (more like flattened by the wind), and he wasn't even panicking (except he was a little bit), and it was one of the best things he'd ever done ( _the_ best thing).

Connor glided gradually downwards, swerving in the direction he wanted with effortless grace. Evan had never seen him so comfortable in his own skin - human-Connor was too tall and gangly, but dragon-Connor moved fluidly and naturally like liquid.

Evan had picked up an embarrassing habit of calling him human-Connor when he was in human form. He could help it - that was just the way he differentiated the two Connors in his head. At first, Connor had just grumbled that "there is only one Connor; besides, if someone else catches you calling me that, they'll think we're nutcases", but eventually the name stuck. Though Connor would never admit it, it was kind of endearing to have that one name reserved just for the two of them.

The ground rushed up to meet them, slowly at first, then all at once. Connor landed in a clear, grassy space, front legs first, back legs second. "Dragon-Connor..." Evan said hesitantly, still holding on for dear life even though they weren't going anywhere. "How do I...get down?"

Connor laughed inwardly and stretched out a wing to help him down.

Evan slid down it awkwardly and landed on the ground on his back. By the time he'd stood up, brushing grass and leaves off his trousers, Connor had already switched back to human form.

"You know," Connor mused, standing there with his arms folded and a lopsided grin, "I really don't hate your guts."

Which was probably the highest form of praise coming from Connor Murphy.

"Th...thanks." Evan managed, only it sounded more like a question than an answer. Then he began to take in his surroundings. "Where are we?"

"The orchard," said Connor, already walking away from Evan and gesturing for him to follow. "But the part of the orchard no one knows exists. My part."

Evan trudged after him, noticing that the expanse was marred by nettles and climbing weeds. He batted away a particularly tall thistle as he followed Connor's trail.

Then he stopped. "That makes...so much sense!"

Connor turned around, tilting his head at him in confusion. "What makes sense?"

"There was a fire!" Evan had never sounded so happy about a disaster. "There was a fire, a couple of years ago, near the orchard." He looked to Connor, his eyes bright. "That was _you_."

Rolling his eyes, Connor continued forging a path through the nettles. "I had a fight with my sister. Things got...heated. Pardon the horrendous pun."

Despite still being borderline terrified of Connor, Evan felt laughter bubble up in his throat. "You-you tried to burn Zoe?"

"I don't want to talk about it," muttered Connor sullenly. Then, after a few moments of charged silence, he snorted involuntarily. "Okay, so it _was_ kind of funny. And I was grounded for two weeks."

Evan hazarded a nervous laugh.

He'd been so lost in conversation that he hadn't noticed where Connor was leading him - the trees became denser and the ground became damper with moss and mushrooms. A thin ray of sunlight dappled the leaves. It was almost a scene stolen straight from the Brothers Grimm.

"Zoe calls it my lair, but I call it my den," said Connor. He stopped and flopped down onto a log as if it were his favourite couch. "It's where I come to...I don't know. Do whatever dragons do."

Evan stood awkwardly in between two oak trees. "And what...what _do_ dragons do?"

Connor rested his legs on a fallen branch. "Hoard shiny things," he said earnestly.

"But..." Evan laughed quietly. "What do dragons really do?"

When Connor answered, he looked Evan dead in the eye. "Kidnap innocent souls."

Evan's heart skipped a beat.

Connor stood up, clapping his hands together and laughing out loud. That laugh could start and end wars, thought Evan. "I was _joking_ , Evan. _Joking_." He clapped a hand over his mouth to stifle the rest of his laughter.

Evan blushed, his fear forgotten. "Right. I-I knew that."

Then Evan took one more look at Connor and his heart went and skipped another damn beat.

Because there they were, spread out behind him, just as they'd been when he'd first saw them in the school bathroom. Outspread wings. Wings that reflected the dappled sunlight and changed colour when they moved.

Connor saw that he was staring, turned around, and cursed loudly. "Not again."

"I-I thought you could control -"

"Well. I thought I could too," stated Connor. "But they come out sometimes, when I don't mean for them to. I think it's your fault."

Evan thought he was joking again, but one look at Connor's face told him he wasn't this time. "My fault?"

Connor avoided his eyes, kicking up leaves with the toes of his combat boots. "Yeah. You make me...nervous. Emotions and all that. So I can't control my wings."

A peculiar silence settled among the trees, in which Connor folded his wings into his back in embarrassment and Evan used all of his effort not to blush crimson.

Finally, Connor broke the silence. "When I threatened to burn all the trees down, I didn't actually mean it."

Evan looked up. "I know."

"How did you know?"

"I just..." Evan wrung his hands together. "I just had a feeling. But...but you know Jared won't tell anyone about you, don't you?"

Connor nodded. "The bugger's terrified of me. Of course I knew."

"So, why..." Evan frowned. It didn't make sense. "Why are you paying him to keep quiet, then, i-if you know he won't tell?"

Maybe it was a trick of the light, but Evan could have sworn he saw Connor's eyes flash. "You really haven't figured it out yet?"

He sounded aggravated. Evan wondered what he possibly could have done to make him angry.

"It's an excuse to see you," said Connor quietly. "That's it. That's literally _it_."

Evan inhaled sharply. "R-really?"

Connor scowled.

"But..." Evan whispered, "you don't need an excuse. You could have just...said you wanted to...hang out?" Were all dragons this cryptic?

Connor's voice was so low that Evan had to lean in closer to hear him. "I don't want to _hang out._ I want to _date_ you, Evan. I thought you _knew_." With that, he rose from his perch on the log and paced up and down stormily.

Suddenly and unexplainably, Evan felt the urge to laugh again. Because it had taken Connor so long to finally tell him. And because the whole situation was just so improbable and slightly ridiculous.

And slightly magical.

"Me too," he said.

Connor stopped pacing and looked at him, a wild look in his eyes. "Really? Even if I...hoard shiny things? And accidentally set things on fire?"

Now Evan couldn't hold it back any longer - he laughed, loud and uncontrollable. "Of course. Of course."


End file.
